Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Three
22nd May 1963
Kreuzberg, Berlin
Ji had just finished unloading crates of fresh produce from the van into the walk-in cooler. Many of the varieties of fruit and vegetables that he had seen were surprisingly familiar to him being the same as those sold in Korea. According to Suk it was because farmers outside the city knew that there was demand here within the Korean population looking for a taste of home. It was something that caused Ji to take a closer look at the jars and cans of the products that the store sold. He had seen the labels in Korean and assumed that they had been imported. It seemed that Ji’s assumptions were wrong and when he thought about it, he realized that these were locally produced goods that had Korean labels slapped on them. It would have been too expensive to do it otherwise.
“Are you here to window shop or work” Soo-Jin said sharply. It seemed like Ji was always running afoul of Soo-Jin, Suk’s wife who took the management of the store far more seriously than her husband did. If it wasn’t how he was doing his job, it was her concern about how Ji might put down roots here in Kreuzburg through her family. As if Ji was interested in the Han family’s homely daughter Bora. Even at the age of seventeen Bora gave Ji the impression that she would become her mother in twenty odd years. Ji would call the German authorities on himself before he considered going that route.
Rushing back to the front of the store, Ji grabbed the dust mop and started sweeping the aisles of the store. It was something safe to do, it made him look busy though he wasn’t doing a whole lot. He did a once around the whole store, trying to make sure that the linoleum floor was spotless. There were a few coins that he found that he pocketed, it wasn’t as if anyone’s name was on them. After shaking out the mop, Ji found a broom and a dustpan. As he swept up the pile of debris, Ji noticed that he was being watched.
A little girl with blue eyes and hair the color of copper was peeking around the corner at him. Seeing that she had been noticed, she stepped forward. “Good afternoon, Sir” She said in comprehensible Korean, and she gave him a slight nod in the manner considered polite.
“Thank you, Fraulein” Ji replied in German and the girl smiled.
“Stop bothering him Marie” Soo-Jin said, “The boy needs to earn his keep.”
Ji held his tongue, he felt he more than earned his place here. The Han family had been paying him a fair wage, but he still needed to get his living situation sorted and had been sleeping on a cot in the store’s back room until a more permanent arrangement could be found.
“You know her?” Ji asked.
“Marie’s father rents a space upstairs that he runs a photography business out of” Soo-Jin said, “Her parents have been encouraging her to learn new languages, so she bothers me and Suk until her father comes looking for her.”
“You said that you would teach me some more words Frau Han?” Marie asked plaintively.
Ji saw Soo-Jin pull a dogeared Grammar schoolbook from behind the counter that had several bookmarks in it. He couldn’t help that Soo-Jin’s actions didn’t reflect her words. She seemed to enjoy teaching the girl words in Korean.
Copenhagen International Airport
Erland Dalgaard knew that he was in deep shit because he was tied to a chair at what sounded like the airport. He couldn’t guess why he had been crammed into the trunk of a car with two of his co-workers, he would have known that it was Carsten and Ivar just from the smell. Of course, when Erland had seen the Oriental he should have known that something was up, not that he had seem him for long. It had been with shocking speed that he’d been soundly thrashed, which led directly to this current predicament.
After an unknown length of time, a woman entered the hanger and Erland recognized her. The term “deep shit” no longer applied to the situation. It had just become completely catastrophic.
“Did you have any trouble with them?” The woman asked the Oriental. He just shook his head.
“Why did you kidnap us?” Carsten demanded. He never had known when to keep his mouth shut. Didn’t he realize who this was?
The woman smiled warmly but her eyes were cold.
“Nathalie Falk” The woman said, and Carsten fell silent. Erland knew that judgment had come for them.
“We don’t know nothing about that” Ivar said, “She killed herself.”
“No, she didn’t and with that double negative you admit that you know the truth” The woman said, “She was beaten to death after the three of you got through having your way with her.”
She had them dead to rights and Erland had no doubt that the other two would sell him out in a heartbeat to save their own skin.
“Look, whatever price you name, we’ll pay it” Erland said.
“All I want is an answer to a simple question” The woman said, “What was so important that you would risk the wrath of Jarl Gunnarsson? Nathalie was under his protection.”
“We got a better offer” Erland replied.
“I know” The woman said, “Figuring out who that was took time. That is why I’ve had you three watched carefully for the last several months.”
Erland had no idea that had been happening.
“We just were supposed to learn who the father of Nathalie’s daughter was” Ivar said, “She never told us.”
“Idiots” The woman said, “I don’t have time to deal with the excuses that rapists make. We discussed this Kage.”
The Oriental nodded, then with one quick movement he expertly cut Ivar’s throat. As Erland watched him walk towards him, he remembered that there was an expansion of the airport terminal happening, somewhere under the concrete it would also be his tomb.